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Restoration question on "recycled" footage in DVD releases

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QuinceHead:
Hey everyone!

I have a "reused footage" question... And granted maybe nobody on here can here it, but here goes!

In the Three Stooges shorts with "recycled" footage that have been released on DVD, does anyone know if Sony remastered the recycled footage for each and every time it was recycled, or did they just "drop in" the footage that had already been re-mastered?

For example -- the pie fight from Curly's last episode was reused in at least three other shorts, as far as I know.  Did Sony remaster that footage three separate times, or did they just take the remastered footage from Half-Wits' Holiday and replace the recycled footage with the remastered original??

For duty and humanity,
JohnH
aka QuinceHead

BeAStooge:

--- Quote from: QuinceHead on June 07, 2010, 10:05:42 PM ---In the Three Stooges shorts with "recycled" footage that have been released on DVD, does anyone know if Sony remastered the recycled footage for each and every time it was recycled,
--- End quote ---

Yes.

QuinceHead:

--- Quote from: BeAStooge on June 08, 2010, 08:41:00 AM ---Yes.

--- End quote ---

Thanks for the answer!

Out of curiosity -- does this strike anyone as counter-productive, or would it be expecting far, far too much for a Sony employee to know the history of film re-use in The Three Stooges' shorts the way we do?  (After all, the chances of someone going awry would be pretty great, I'd think, and I know that eagle-eyed fans would kvetch.)

But at the same time, surely the recycled footage is of varying degrees of quality?

And for that matter, how did Jules White recycle the footage from previous shorts?  Were the original masters chopped up  :o, or did they "dupe" the footage before inserting it into the new short?

I am interested to know the quality of surviving master footage on these shorts.  Such as, which one is in the poorest shape?  Which ones have best survived the passage of time?  That sort of thing...

For duty and humanity,
JohnH
aka QuinceHead

BeAStooge:

--- Quote from: QuinceHead on June 08, 2010, 09:06:33 AM ---how did Jules White recycle the footage from previous shorts?... did they "dupe" the footage before inserting it into the new short?

--- End quote ---

Yes.


--- Quote ---I am interested to know the quality of surviving master footage on these shorts. 

--- End quote ---


All the camera negatives went thru a thorough restoration.  Brand new safety stock negatives were created.  Brand new 35mm masters were printed; they were remastered/transferred to digital files for the new DVDs, subsequent home video technologies, television distribution, etc.

QuinceHead:

--- Quote from: BeAStooge on June 08, 2010, 10:42:28 AM ---All the camera negatives went thru a thorough restoration.  Brand new safety stock negatives were created.  Brand new 35mm masters were printed; they were remastered/transferred to digital files for the new DVDs, subsequent home video technologies, television distribution, etc.

--- End quote ---

Thanks for the detailed info, BeAStooge!   ;D

I'm always somewhat amazed that done of the Three Stooges' shorts were ever destroyed / lost, considering how much of our celluloid heritage has gone by the wayside over the years!

But surely some of the shorts are in rougher shape than others?  I seem to remember for years that the copy of Three Little Pirates that Channel 38 (WSBK-TV in Boston) aired, looked really ropey!   ???

For duty and humanity,
JohnH
aka QuinceHead

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